ANTHRAX Guitarist: RANDY BLYTHE ‘Didn’t Cause That Fan’s Death’

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian is one of a number of musicians who have come out in support of LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe, who is facing manslaughter charges in the Czech Republic.

Blythe, 41, is accused of causing the fatal injury that occurred at LAMB OF GOD‘s May 24, 2010 show in Prague. The singer apparently either pushed or struck a 19-year-old fan named Daniel N. who had come on stage, and that person died 14 days later of bleeding in the brain. A post-mortem reportedly found that he had not been drunk or under the influence of drugs.

In a series of tweets, Ian wrote, “[It’s] complete and utter bullshit for [Randy] to be treated like a criminal for something he didn’t do. Now fans can see first-hand why there’s no stagediving anymore. Especially in the post-Darrell world we live in. [Referring to late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott, who was killed on stage by a crazed ‘fan’ in December 2004.] It’s all fun and games until people get murdered, die and get arrested.” He added, “Randy didn’t cause that fan’s death. That fan chose his path. People need to take responsibility for their actions no matter what the consequence. Of course it’s sad that this person died, it’s a tragedy, but it’s not Randy‘s fault. I wouldn’t have expected this to happen in Europe. The repercussions from this are going to make shows even more stringent than they already are.”

The crime of which Blythe is being accused is punishable by up to ten years in prison, according to popular Czech news web site Novinky.cz.